RELIGION EMERGES AS CENTRAL ISSUE IN LEAD-UP TO SPANISH ELECTIONS

By Carlos Garcia de Andoin and - - Reprint | | Print |

This column is available for visitors to the IPS website only for reading. Reproduction in print or electronic media is prohibited. Media interested in republishing may contact romacol@ips.org.

MADRID, Feb 20 2008 (IPS) - In Spain, religion has emerged as an important political issue to a greater extent than was expected, writes Carlos Garcia de Andoin, federal coordinator of the Christian Socialists (PSOE). In this article, the author writes that this is not only because the current legislature, which was seated in March 2004, was shaken by the jihadi bombings of the Madrid subway, but also because it found itself targeted by the active opposition of the most conservative sectors of the Catholic church. The origin of the tensions was not a policy of barring religion from public life but rather the changes in culture and values that are sweeping Spanish society. When the economy is in reasonably good shape, the manifestation of the political differences between the right and the left shifts to the arena of cultural values. Thus the government of the PSOE has represented the change in values while the Catholic Church has made itself the defender of traditional values.

The points of contention are above all family and education, as well as the idea of nationhood. These issues comprise the nucleus of conservative thought, which in Spain is traditionally Catholic. The pressure that has been exerted in the lead-up to the March 9 elections by the most influential and conservative bishops is nothing less that a complete indictment of a legislature in which they have picked the Socialist Party as the moral and human adversary of Catholicism, with homosexual marriage serving as the central challenge – ”iniquitous laws” that bring about ”the dissolution of democracy” and ”a regression in terms of rights”.

The bishops in Rome share this doctrinal vision, though it is not clear whether the Secretary of State of the Vatican and an important group of Spanish bishops are in agreement about fomenting a climate of political confrontation with the socialist government.

This panorama of contention, however, should not obscure the truth that many of the policies pushed by the government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero show a real affinity for evangelical values. It is important to highlight the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, support for the Alliance of Civilisations, the normalisation of almost a million immigrants and the national integration plan, the increase of development assistance from 0.34 to 0.5 percent of GDP, a law developing the fourth pillar of the social state by guaranteeing care for dependents, cutting unemployment from 11 to 8 percent, and the agreement to improve work security.

Today 78.7 percent of the socialist electorate identifies itself as Catholic, 33 percent as practising Catholics. It is a citizenry that values advanced social policy designed to bring about peace, equality, and social justice.

Moreover, the points of contention should be clearly identified. The origin of the tensions was not a policy of barring religion from public life. From the beginning, and in the presence of Pope John Paul II, President Zapatero stated that he would act in keeping with the Church-State accords of 1979. The conflict is not over lay values but rather has to do with the changes in culture and values that are sweeping Spanish society. When the economy is in reasonably good shape, the manifestation of the political differences between the right and the left shifts to the arena of cultural values. Thus the government of the PSOE has represented the change in values while the Catholic Church has made itself the defender of traditional values, a role it performs better than the conservative party, the Popular Party.

An example of these policies of the government was its focus on the fight against gender-based domination and the extension of rights to homosexuals through the recognition of gay marriage. Zapatero has said that the bishops ”have the right to intervene in the democratic debate”, but what they have no right to do is pass laws or disobey them.

The government’s policy towards religion has followed the lay approach outlined in the Spanish constitution: the promotion of religious freedom, the affirmation of the sovereignty and independence of the state with respect to religion, but also cooperation with religious faiths. This constitutional mandate is now praised by other European countries for the way it facilitates active policies towards religion.

The cooperation that has developed between Spain’s government and religious minorities led to the legislature’s granting of six billion euros to finance cultural, educational, and social activities through the Pluralism and Co-existence Foundation. Cooperation has also taken the form of a policy of dialogue and agreement with the Catholic community in the form of three accords. The first involved Catholic schools, which educate almost a third of the country’s students and are financed 100 percent by public funds. This agreement has even involved the Education for the Citizenry curriculum. The accord on professors of religion gives a significant role to the unions, which have significantly improved labour rights in a formula which won the approval of Rome.

The executive and the legislature have noted and respected the contribution of religion to the public discourse of Spain’s democratic society, but have emphasised the principle of the general public good and above all its loyalty to the mandate of popular sovereignty. A case in point was the development of policies inspired by human rights, like the extension of the scope of rights, gender equality, and the education of children and adolescents for a democratic citizenry.

At this time when Spanish society has experienced an accelerated influx of immigrants (they constitute 10 percent of the total population), the policy on religion can and should be above all an effective instrument to address the principal challenge facing us: the integration of these immigrants into our society. Proper immigration policy must recognise the immigrant not only as a labourer but as a person too, with an identity and a culture. What is necessary is a process of dialogue between the immigrant and the culture and laws of the adopted country, which must take into account the differences of the former. To make this happen, economic and political actors are not enough; cultural and religious figures also have an important role to play. What is needed is a creation of alliances and an integration of cultural and religious factors sufficient to prevent them from being exploited to legitimise reactionary and xenophobic policies.

Since he has been in power Zapatero has created more religious freedom, more laicity, and more cooperation. This how he is battling the fundamentalist advance. Thus our increasingly pluri-religious and pluricultural society becomes more viable – built around an idea of increasingly universal citizenship and a laity that is inclusive. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS)